Canon PowerShot G15 vs Nikon Coolpix P7700

The Canon versus Nikon debate has been around for almost as long as Coke versus Pepsi or dogs versus cats (well, maybe not quite). Both manufacturers make excellent cameras, but that hasn't stopped people from choosing sides. Naturally, we here at DPReview love a good debate, so we've decided to put the two flagship compact cameras from Canon and Nikon against one another in a head-to-head battle.

This review is going to be a bit different to those you'd normally read here on Digital Photography Review, in that rather than looking at one camera and placing it in context alongside its competitors, we'll be directly comparing how two cameras compare in terms of design, features, performance, and photo quality. Which one will come out the winner? You'll have to read on to find out.

It came from the year 2000... the Canon PowerShot G1 (left) effectively created the high-end compact camera class. As you can see, in terms of design philosophy, Canon hasn't changed the fundamental recipe much in 13 years.

Both the PowerShot G15 and Coolpix P7700 have a rich history. The PowerShot G1 debuted way back in October 2000, and featured a 3.3 megapixel CCD, 3X zoom lens, optical viewfinder, swiveling LCD, and hot shoe. The Coolpix P7700's family tree is a bit more convoluted, though it's probably fair to say that its original ancestor is the Coolpix 5000 from 2001. That camera offered a similar feature set to the aforementioned G1, but sported a 5 megapixel sensor.

Before we begin, here's a quick look comparison of features and spec on the two cameras - if one of them bests the other in any particular way, we've indicated it in green.

Feature & Spec Comparison

Canon PowerShot G15

Nikon Coolpix P7700

Sensor size/type

1/1.7" CMOS

1/1.7" BSI CMOS

Resolution (total/effective)

13.3 / 12.1 megapixel

12.8 / 12.2 megapixel

Lens focal range

28 - 140 mm (5X)

28 - 200 mm (7.1X)

Lens max aperture

F1.8 - F2.8

F2.0 - F4.0

Min. focus distance

1 cm

2 cm

LCD size/style

3-inch / Fixed

3-inch / Fully articulated

LCD resolution

922,000 dots

922,000 dots

Optical viewfinder

Yes

No

ISO range

80 - 12800

80 - 6400

Burst mode (claimed)

10.0 fps

8.0 fps

Max movie resolution

1920 x 1080 / 24 fps

1920 x 1080 / 30 fps

Ext. mic input

No

Yes

GPS support

No

Optional

Remote control

Wired

Wired, wireless

On-board memory

None

86 MB

Battery life (CIPA)

350 shots

330 shots

Street price *

$449 / £399 / €465

$389 / £299 / €401

* At time of publication

Hopefully, you can immediately see what separates these two cameras: the G15 offers the faster lens and optical viewfinder, but has less zoom power and a fixed LCD. The P7700, on the other hand, has more zoom power and a swivel LCD, but no viewfinder. It's also cheaper at time of publication in the USA, UK and Europe, as you can see in the table above.

If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions.

We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X, Y, and Z and ideally A, B, and C.

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Comments

The BSI-CMOS sensor of the P7700 should feature a better signal/noise ratio over the "conventional" CMOS sensor of the G15 that we cannot notice in this comparison obviously. Is the advantage of BSI-CMOS sensor just marketing BS ? However it looks that it shows its superiority with purple fringing : the shorter distance between the micro-lenses and the photosites increases the tolerance to rays that do not hit the sensor perpendicularly. Unless it is the Nikon lens design that helps ?

For sure, if young people (like you ?) mistake such a camera for a "valve" then I understand we cannot see them use it to take pictures...So the question : Are young people skilled and trained in photography enough to evaluate a camera ?